Bryan Voltaggio

Following last week’s dramatic finale, the Top Chef All Stars reunion airs tonight on Bravo at 10/9c.

On the reunion special hosted Andy Cohen, we will get to see all of the all-star food fighters dish on their raw antics and well-done dramas of Season 8. Show host Padma Lakshmi and judges Tom Colicchioand Gail Simmons will appear on the show. All week, the network has teased a clip showing Tom and Elia Aboumrad, first contestant to be eliminated this season who might or might not still be bitter, having some words of exchange. That preview clip is below.

It seems Elia’s beef with Tom (pun intended) stems from the comments she made back in December following her elimination from the show. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Elia accused Tom of selling out due to fame. “He has become a very different person. He has become someone who is not all about the food anymore,” said Elia. “He’s not all about supporting farmers markets. He’s all about high-fructose corn syrup and there’s only corn-fed beef on all of his menus now.”

Tom however denied Elia’s claims stating that his ad for Coca Cola was for Diet Coke (which has no high-fructose corn syrup) and that he does buy food from local farmers. “I would say I’m probably buying more local produce at all of my restaurants, especially in Vegas. We get a truckload of stuff that comes from the Santa Monica market and from California farmers three times a week,” said Tom.

Meanwhile, runner-upMike Isabella opens up about losing out to Richard Blais in an interview with TV Giude. “I thought I won. I’ve never gotten comments like that before in both seasons,” Mike reveals. “Regardless, I did win. … It was a personal victory. To be on All-Stars and to make it that far,” added Mike. Below are some excerpts from Mike’s interview -

Everyone said you were a different chef in the Bahamas. What kind of training did you do during the three-month break?
Mike: I knew that I barely got out of New York. I kept saying to myself, “Push through, push through. Let’s go back and keep training.” … When I went back home, I started eating differently, I started seeing a trainer, I started working out to get my mental [health] stronger. I was fortunate that I was opening a restaurant and didn’t have to work every day, so I was working in different chefs’ restaurants throughout D.C. … I was really fired up. I was changing things up.

You talk a lot of smack and some fans thought you were dismissive of female chefs. What do you have to say about that?
Mike: A chef is a chef. When I say, like, “Michelle Bernstein is one of the best female chefs,” I was just giving an explanation. I wasn’t saying she’s not as good as males. She’s one of the best chefs in the country. Period. She’s an icon to me. It has nothing to do with being a guy or a girl. I joke a lot. People take it the way they want. What they don’t see is the whole conversation. … If you talk to anyone — people from my season to this season — they [will tell you] I’m very sarcastic. I thought going into the competition that Blais was the best chef there and I wanted to compete against him. … If he was a girl, I would’ve still wanted to compete against him.

What’s the latest on Graffiato?
Mike: We should hopefully open up in the next few weeks — late spring. You’ll see some similarities with some of the dishes you saw in the finale. It’s going to be a great restaurant. It’s right in the heart of D.C. It’s Italian-inspired dishes, with home touches, wood-oven cooking. We’re just so excited to get it going.

Mike also revealed that Bryan Voltaggio, season 6 runner-up is an investor in his new restaurant. Interesting that Mike was asked about being dismissive towards female chefs as some fans of the show have criticized it for being “anti-female.”

And finally, Top Chef Masters will be making it’s debut tonight following the reunion show with new hostCurtis Stone.

Michael Voltaggio has been crowned the new winner of Top Chef’s Season 6.

Michael beat out the other 2 finalists, his brother BryanVoltaggio, and Kevin Gillespie, a chef from Atlanta. Michael was named the Top Chef champ after serving the judges an impressive four-course menu in California wine country that showed his creativity and technical talent.

Kevin was the first sent home out of the final 3, leaving the two brothers to battle it out for the win. At the end of the day, the judges felt Michael was the stronger of the two.

Michael wins $225,000 in cash and merchandise, a spread in Food & Wine magazine and a showcase at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. “I wish both of us could win,” Michael said of his brother, breaking into tears when their mother walked out.